American Naturalism

American Naturalism is a literary movement beginning in the United States in the late 19th century; it was similar to realism in its rejection of Romanticism, but which emphasizes social commentary, scientific objectivism, detachment, and determinism.

Zeitgeist of the late 19th century
In the aftermath of the American Civil War, the country's population shifted from the country to the city as its economy changed from agrarianism to the manufacturing industry. Improvements in one industry led to advancements in other, with the ability to produce cheap steel leading to the boom in rail travel, while the invention of refrigerated train cars led to the boom in the meatpacking industry. The captains of industry and finance, like J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and Jay Fisk had unprecedented power, and, to some, they represented the fruition of the American Dream, to go from rags to riches. To others, the men were robber barons, exerting great power over the economy and society; the ferry and steamship empresario Cornelius Vanderbilt had an indifferent attitude toward the law, as he had money.

The 19th century also saw huge numbers of immigrants from Europe and several waves of migration from the rural areas of the country, with both streams finding their ways to the cities in hopes of improving their lives. The muckraker Jacob Riis documented the desperate poverty of many city dwellers in his book, How the Other Half Lives. At the same time, the Genteel Tradition in literature was a response to the new economic and social realities of the late 19th century, as it was determined to ignore the working-class struggles and instead focus on the lifestyles of the upper-class. The desire for exclusiveness in a democratic society led to the rise of "American Victorianism", which was an imported version of Victorianism with bourgeois values and a sense of settled decency. The traits of the Genteel Tradition included sentimentality, and excess of false emotion, and keeping up appearances. The period was marked by a fear of the unknown and of the foreign. In other levels of society, rapid changes were taking place: unionism was a response to harsh working conditions, reform movements opposed huge conglomerates, and socialism expanded its influence.

Origins of Naturalism
Naturalism has its roots in French literature, particularly in the works of Emile Zola. Naturalism is an attempted objectivity, attempting to model literature on science. In addition, Naturalism did not accept the "fairy tale" narrative of the "good guy" always winning, instead putting a situation together and watching it. They had a large degree of frankness with regard to all subjects, including poverty, sex, and disease. In Stephen Crane's Maggie, A Girl of the Streets, the author took up an amoral attitude toward the subject and characters, presenting the protagonist in a sympathetic light - this led to his book being banned for a period due to its uncouth presentation of the girl.

Naturalism was also influenced by determinism, a sense that one cannot control his or her own destiny. Naturalism can also have a pessimistic outlook as a result, and, as scientists, they frequently gave animal traits to characters.